Integrated circuits are generally assembled in a package and are connected to other circuits and to power supply terminals. The distribution of the power supply potentials or of static signals in an integrated circuit from external connection terminals is a recurring problem.
Most often, terminals of connection of the package to another package or to an electronic board are distributed at the periphery of the package containing the semiconductor material chip. Connecting one of these pads to a terminal for providing a static potential is generally insufficient to preserve homogeneity of the potential within the chip. Indeed, the tracks conveying this static potential from the external terminal all the way to the elements using them have parasitic resistances which generate potential drops.
One thus generally has to use a plurality of regularly distributed terminals of the package, which are connected to different pads of the integrated circuit internal to the package. A sort of ring is thus created around the integrated circuit to distribute the static potentials, particularly the power supply potentials. The higher the number of terminals delivering the potential, the better the distribution, that is, the smaller the power supply voltage intervals between the different points (pads) of the integrated circuit. However, the higher the number of terminals, the greater the package bulk.